Video Review: Ontario Black Wind vs meat & bone

In the final of these three posts demonstrating the abilities of the KA-BAR Zombie Killer knives, Dead-On Annihilator, Stanley FUBAR and Ontario Blackwind, I will leave you with the abilities of the Blackwind, which I reviewed a while back. This now out-of-production blade is loosely based on a Japanese sword, being a single edged, two handed blade. This one is considerably shorter than a "standard" katana, and far less curved, being all but straight. It does lend itself to techniques that I am familiar with however, and I have used it extensively as a horticultural tool, hence my nickname for it, my "tree-chopping sword"


1 Ontario BlackWind vs beef leg-bone, following the KA-BAR Zombie Killer collection. Watch for flying bone fragments, which impressed the hell out of me. That's why I wore safety glasses!

2 BlackWind vs pig head. Now, this head already had some damage done, in the form of penetration tests from the KA-BAR's, but the damage dealt by the Blackwind goes way beyond this. I only have a little experience test-cutting, and have been away from kendo training for some time with an ankle injury, so my form was off, but it certainly got the job done, from a standing cut-chop point of view. (We generally practice a moving cut-slice in kendo) but fairly happy with how these two cuts felt, given the targets and placements.

All in all, I was very happy with these tests, the items I tested, and lastly, the great stocks I made from the leftovers. I hope you liked this series of posts, feel free to comment and make requests for my next video demonstration and review.

Video Review: FUBAR & Annihilator vs meat

Following on from my previous post where I demonstrated the kinds of effects the KA-BAR Zombie Killer knives have on a selection of beef and pig parts, today I compare and contrast The Dead-On Annihilator SuperHammer with the Stanley FUBAR.

For the two hammers, I did static tests with the the beef sides, leg bone and pig head on stacked logs. This was my first attempt at target cutting on meat, but was a very rewarding experience.

Again, I tried to limit myself to the, strikes and thrusts that I would use in a fighting situation, rather than what I might use in a demolition or handy-man type situation, in that I wanted to avoid over extension, and sufficient commitment to each strike to complete it satisfactorily whilst being in a follow-up position as well.

As I mentioned in the original post, and in the clips, all the meat was retrieved and used to make some really delightful stocks, the fat rendered for lard and the remnants fed to my chickens to supplement their pellet, grain and vegetable scrap diet.

So, on to the mayhem...


1 Dead-On Annihilator & Stanley FUBAR test vs prone sides of beef



1 Dead-On Annihilator & Stanley FUBAR vs beef leg-bone


Whilst being (presumably) off-purpose for these tools it was a very valuable set of tests for me personally, in that they demonstrated what kinds of effects these tools would have in the event of their being used in combat. Namely; messy and very unpleasant. I've had ribs and fingers broken from blunt-force trauma from weapons (accidentally during the course of kendo training) so can attest to how debilitating it can be, even with something as innocuous as the wooden bokken let alone a hammer. War-hammers were employed for centuries with devastating effect

Video Review: KA-BAR ZombieKiller blades

I wanted to do some practical testing of the
Ka-Bar Zombie Killer Knives that I have been reviewing of late, and felt the best way to do this was to do some practice cutting. Rather than invite strangers into my back yard for tsujigiri - the act of testing a sword on a chance passer-by, or tameshigiri- on rolled, wet, tatami matting, I chose to use a variety of meat and bone sources. Beef brisket off-cuts (with both bone and cartilaginous ribs), a beef leg bone, and halved pig head were my targets of choice.I could have used cardboard, bottles of water, bamboo, tatami-rolls or even, horror of horrors, fruit and vegetables but I wanted a more authentic performance test.

I hung the beef sides from a beam, to give it the opportunity to swing and move freely and also did static tests with the the beef sides, leg bone and pig head on stacked logs. This was my first attempt at target cutting on meat, but was a very rewarding experience.

I tried to limit myself to the cuts, strikes and thrusts that I would use in a fighting situation, rather than what I might use in a demolition or handy-man type situation, in that I wanted to avoid over extension, and sufficient commitment to each cut to complete it whilst being in a follow-up position as well.

All the meat was retrieved and used to make some really delightful stocks, the fat rendered for lard and the remnants fed to my chickens to supplement their pellet, grain and vegetable scrap diet.



1 Hanging beef-sides Vs the "Death" Dagger and "Famine" Tanto are the smaller two, with the "War" Sword and the "Pestilence" Chopper being the larger two.


2 Stabbing penetration beef-sides Vs the "Death" Dagger and "Famine" Tanto, along with the "War" Sword. The "Pestilence" Chopper did not have a stabbing tip so was not used for this test.


3 Beef leg bone the "Death" Dagger and "Famine" Tanto, with the "War" Sword and the "Pestilence" Chopper . I also tried out my "Tree Chopping Sword", the Ontario BlackWind which I reviewed a while back.


4 Finally, I tested the three stabbing capable KA-BAR's against the pig head for penetration.

I was really pleased with how each of these knives (and my sword) worked out. They did indeed wreak devastation onto the targets, effortlessly cutting and stabbing, chopping bone without a noticeable blemish to the edges or coatings.

I hope you enjoyed watching as much as I liked making these, and stay tuned for some hammering from the Annihilator and FUBAR, next!

Review: KA-BAR Zombie Killer sheathes

Having now reviewed each of the Four Horsemen of
Ka-Bar Zombie Killer Knives, I wanted to give some attention to the sheathes that each came with. The reason being that these are not just simply somewhere to hold your knife, but significant kit in their own rights.

There are two sizes, one for each of the two sizes of blades, the "Death" Dagger and "Famine" Tanto are the smaller two, with the "War" Sword and the "Pestilence" Chopper being the two larger two.

The front of the sheathes features a hook-and-loop field for patches, drawstrings to close the large front pouches on each. A couple of grommets at the bottom to allow it to be lashed to your thigh whilst worn on a belt. The back of the sheathes feature three distinct MOLLE regions; a 2x2 and two 2x3 sets, for fixing it to other MOLLE kit, like a plate carrier, battle belt, pack or drop-leg rig. The MOLLE loops are just that, simple loops, the sheathe offers no PALS attachment straps to feed into whatever you are mounting it to, for that you'd have to look to something like the Maxpedition 3"or 5" TacTie to do so.

Each of the sheathes features a twin press-stud closure to secure your primary blade, the lower of the two clasps also features a hook-and-loop backing so you can flatten it down, out of the way if only the top one is in use. You can see a second set of eyelets through the back of the belt-loop here if further lashings are desired. That versatility is a very desirable component, and I was totally not surprised that KA-BAR had thought about it.
The scabbard part of this piece is made of the same GFN-PA66 plastic that the scales of the blades these are made for are fitted out with, and you can see here that as well as the main scabbard, for the big blade, the complementary Acheron blade has its own integrated GFN-PA66 scabbard, complete with press-stud closing flap. Again and again, KA-BAR shows that even in the little details, they have thought out ways to make a good accessory.




Lastly is the large outer pocket, which is fitted with a drawstring closure, and ships with this hank of the same toxic/radioactive green showstring seen in the drawstring, which matches the green scales on the handles of the big blades themselves. The pocket is spacious enough to fit several tennis balls. If you don't think that is hard-core enough, well, let Henry V fill you in as to why this is important. That said, it gives you an idea of the capacity of this pocket. It seems to me a good place to stow a small medical kit, fire-starting or sharpening tools, a spare magazine if you are that way inclined, or a snack.

The heavy Cordura type fabric is well finished, heavily stitched and reinforced and the length of the sheath is stiff, both from the internal fixed scabbards, but also from its construction, which gives a very sturdy, dependable and rugged tool in and of itself. Standard black, it may well stand out from the rest of your kit, unless that's the colour scheme you are going with. I really like these sheathes, they are perfect for the Zombie Killer knives they are designed for, and look forwards to fitting them to my kit, especially in the event of an occasion to make full use of them. Let's see if they stack up like Gerber's Apocalypse Kit seen in AMC's Walking Dead

Click to see them in ThinkGeek

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Review: KA-BAR Zombie "Pestilence" Chopper

To finalise my review of the big blades of the
Ka-Bar Zombie Killer Knives I wanted to leave the biggest till last. Where the "Death" Dagger is slick, slash and stab blade, I found that the "Famine" Tanto is a brutally hungry hacker, and the "War" Sword is an angry and savage beast, the final (or First) Horseman's tool, the "Pestilence" Chopper.

Again, I placed the blade up against one of the Hibben-esque throwers I reviewed a while back, and the Acheron companion knife that ships with each of the Zombie Killer blades, and you can see that this is indeed a big blade. It's no sword, as with the other blades in the series, but it is certainly no butter-knife either. The broad, gently forwards-curved blade is reminiscent of a bill-hook knife this is a tool not to be taken lightly. Functional and simple, this blade is the longest of the set, at 40cm (15-3/4") with a whopping (or chopping, as the case may be) 26cm (10-1/4")blade edge.

As with the rest of the line, it features the same 5mm (0.205") thick SK5 steel blade, bead-coated in non-reflective matte black, which offers both rust-protection, but also improves the cutting/withdrawing action of the blade. The back of the blade is tapered at the spine, presumably to afford some head-space for deep penetration withdraw of the blade, an important factor whether you are chopping sugar cane, banana trees, green wood or human skulls (in kendo, we practice a kata which explicit relates to the efforts needed to extricate your sword from your opponents skull.)

As heavy as the "War" Sword, at 450g (1 lbs) but with a considerably different balance, the "Pestilence" Chopper is heavy in the hand, without feeling cumbersome. The same GFN-PA66 and pebbled ray-skin like texture in the scales of the grip, as well as the protruding knuckles kept it secure in my hand. The agricultural heritage of this blade comes through in how it handles and I felt the forward sweeping blade would make this ideal for snedding branches and probably make for good coconut opening and blackberry bush clearing. Even for its length the blade had no perceptible flex, but given the width, breadth and geometry, I wasn't surprised to not feel it manually.

This is a rough, rugged and practical tool, a formidable knife and a fitting homage to the Rider of the White Horse.

Click to go to ThinkGeek

Review: KA-BAR Zombie "War" Sword

In my third installment of the
Ka-Bar Zombie Killer Knives series, and following on from the "Death" Dagger and the "Famine" Tanto I bring to you KA-BAR's rendering of the formidable tool of the bloody-handed god, rider of the red horse War. In fitting fashion, the KA-BAR "War" Sword, whilst being more of a big knife than a short sword, to my mind (the line is often hotly debated by blade enthusiasts) its lines harken to the ancient Greek Kopis swords, which featured a heavy forward sweeping, chopping head to the blade.

KA_BAR's take on this blade is a big and beefy blade, a logical progression from the Dagger and Tanto, and again as different to these two. Featuring the same SK5 steel, lurid green GFN-PA66 scales (again, with black versions included to take the glare off) and tough bead coated anti-glint finish as the other blades in this series, the "War" Sword stretches out to 38cm (15-1/8"), 24cm (9-3/4") of which is gently curving edge. The blade weighs in at 450g (1 lbs) but given the balance, feels much livelier in the hand than the Tanto, I found. The edge geometry is the same 20 degree taper-grind seen in the rest of this line, but the primary grind runs all the way from the spine of the blade, with a length of the back of the head of the blade having a secondary grind, for about the third of the width, presumably to reduce the weight slightly, a very subtle addition.

The whole of the blade "sits back" of the mid-line of the handle, as seen in the "Death" Dagger, with the edge sitting close to the finger line, with the spine of the blade sitting beyond the back of the handle. This allows for the back of the blade to feature a deeply crenelated thumb-grip much like that seen in the "Death" Dagger, allowing for a choked up, "thumb-on-top grip" useful for a variety of styles. I should add that these crenelations are very comfortable on the hand. Big enough to grip, not so big as to gouge. Similarly the front finger guard is a good size, and certainly gives the feeling of stopping fingers slipping forwards onto the blade.


I really like how this blade feels in the hand, combining a hefty but not heavy slashing and cutting blade, with a tip capable of stabbing. It certainly feels lively in the hand, as if it were willing slashes and strikes.

Click me to go to ThinkGeek

Review: KA-BAR Zombie "Famine" Tanto

This is the second piece from my
Ka-Bar Zombie Killer Knives set, which I got for my birthday. I hinted at the set and started my ride with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse yesterday with the Death Dagger and now I will have a look at the next one up on my list. Prepare for yourself for the coming of the "Famine" Tanto. This is a hefty knife. It shares the same toxic/radioactive green GFN-PA66 scales as the other knives in this set, which is a nice feature, being totally interchangeable, and likewise, shares the matte-black scale option, shipping with its own set.

The first thing that caught my attention about this blade was its size. At 430g (0.95 lbs) this is a significant jump up from the Death Dagger. 90g heavier may not seem a lot, but when you consider the Hibben-esque thrower beside it weighs about 140g all up, the CRKT Stiff KISS that has been my previous tanto go-to knife weighs in at only 55g, it puts this into perspective.

I had mentioned that I would be reviewing is set in ascending size order, but the Famine Tanto is in fact slightly shorter Than the Death Dagger, sitting at 33cm (13-1/8" ) overall with a fixed blade 19cm (7-5/8") long. The difference is the breadth. The tanto is a broad blade, which makes it heavy. Brutally so in fact. Made from the same SK5 steel as the Death Dagger, there is substantially more steel in this blade, making it seem a lot bigger in the hand. It certainly has a bigger presence, something to be aware of. The blade geometry is essentially a "classic" modern tanto style, albeit a chunky and big design. The primary grind begins a bit less than half way from the cutting edge, giving a very solid spine, before meeting the tapered, 20 degree cutting edge, as seen in the Death Dagger. Technical specifications from KA-BAR indicate the edge holds a Rockwell hardness of 52-54.



As well as the formidable "Americanised tanto" point, the Famine Tanto also features a couple of very interesting elements. First is the row of 6 deep scalloped serrations which rise up from the base of the edge, just off the edge of the slight hand guard. This placement worried me a little bit, not wanting to saw my fingers in the event of a slippery thrust. Upon further handling, given the protruding knuckle of the handle, this seems unlikely. The crenelated thumb grips on the back of the blade, as with the Death Dagger, give a positive grip for when holding the blade choked up close, for finer work.

The last feature of this blade I wanted to cover is the hooked spike jutting forwards from the butt of the handle. This unsharpened spike could act as a impact weapon, or as a guard for the bottom of the hand, but I'm uncertain of its value. I don't think this would be a design feature I would have asked for, and am unsure if I'd ever find much use for it.

So, a very hefty, very solid and very tough blade, It's hungry, just as you would expect Famine to be, and yearns for the taste of flesh. The serrated bottom of the blade is a great addition, and adds some more functionality to what would obviously be a very purposeful addition to your kit.

Click to go to ThinkGeek

Review: KA-BAR Zombie "Death" Dagger

For my birthday, I was lucky enough to receive the full set of KA-BAR's Zombie Killer fixed blades, which I hinted at a little while ago. This set we ordered from ThinkGeek, and seemed the be the best way to get the whole set in one hit. I'll be covering each of the blades in turn, but for now, have a look at them here: Ka-Bar Zombie Killer Knives Pretty epic, even to look at. Each of the main blades is named after one of the Four Riders of the Apocalypse. I decided to go in reverse order, and look at each blade by size, rather than biblical standard. That's how I roll.

So, first up, here is the Death Dagger, ( which I've lined up against one of the Hibben-esque throwers I reviewed a little while ago for scale) and the skeletonised Charon companion knife that comes with each of the Zombie Killer line. You can see right away that this is a BIG knife, and this is the smallest of the four.

Weighing in at 0.75 lb. and boasting a 35cm (13-7/8") length overall, 21cm (8-1/2") of which is a triangular drop-point blade. Steel of the full-tang blade is a hefty 0.5cm (0.205") for most of its length, but features a gentle distal taper as it reaches the drop-point. The blade geometry gives the sharpened edge a 20 degree angle, beyond the primary grind. This makes for a sturdy edge, which is still sharp, but also easy to maintain. The SK5 steel is reported to come with a Rockwell hardness of between 52-54, which is nice for a high-carbon steel knife, without getting into the brittle side of things. Essentially this means this blade can take a beating but still stay sharp. I like the sounds of that.

The blade is powder coated with a black bead, for rust-prevention and glare-reduction. I was very happy with the finish, and the branding was nicely counter-pointed in the finish.

The handle scales are made of the mysterious GFN-PA66 plastic, and features a very aggressive pebbled texture, not unlike ray or shark. The whole Zombie Tool line features the toxic/radioactive green seen here, but have no fear, it also ships with plain matte-black scales for those "don't light up the neighborhood" situations. For the moment I'm going to leave the green scales on, because whilst not glow-in-the-dark, they are easy to find if dropped, or hanging off my wall late at night.



The blade is quick in the hand, and balanced lightly enough to flick and slash, as well as thrust, even being a lot more knife than I am used to waving around. The handle offers a couple of different grips, with the large protruding element governing where you can place your hands. I have long hands, and found that I could happily have my fingers wrapped around the handle with either my index finger forward, thumb in the crenelated grip provided, in almost a "drop the hammer" pistol grip or with a "two up-two down" fist grip. Either way was comfortable. The guard at the top of the handle seemed quite adequate to prevent my hand slipping over and forwards onto the blade, especially combined with the handles built in protruding "knuckle". A lanyard hole in the butt-end rounds this off to be a very solid piece, and the misgivings I had with its size evaporated once I had a chance to put it through its paces.

This piece, with its "up high on the back of the hilt" geometry, and lightness was very reminiscent of a bayonet and I liked it in the hand. Not as hungry as I would have thought, nor fully sick, or bad-ass, but I'll leave that to the other three Horsemen. The Death Dagger, everything I would expect from my first KA-BAR, solid, tough, brutal and with a plain efficiency that I had lead to believe this brand would give.

The range comes with a very cool scabbard, which I will feature separately, it's that good.

The Zombie Killer Death Dagger: putting an end to what needs ending. With extreme prejudice.

Click to go to ThinkGeek

Review: colours, cams and gear

A little while ago, I mentioned I might do a review of my variety of cams and colours. Here goes I suppose! I gathered my collection of kit and clothes, and made a pile, sorting out the different cam patterns and this is what I came up with. I have placed them against each other so you can get an idea of what works with what, and where one might wear them.

(1) Desert AUSCAM/ DPCU "bunnies behind a rock" shirt.
(2) Desert Camouflage Uniform "coffee stain cam" shirt
(3) AUSCAM/DPCU "hearts and bunnies" Raven pack accessory bag
(4) M81 Woodland on my Stargate LRP pants
(5) Multicam "scorpion cam" on my Half-Med kit

I was gifted both the desert patten shirts, and don't have matching pants. Would love to get some in DCU, nostalgic to my years living in Dubai.



Then I noticed that my Woodland pattern things were slightly different, notably the pants I wear at Stargate LRP lasertag(4) were different to the (6) 3x30rdn Mag Pouch I reviewed, which is again different to the (7) Lazy Patch Duvet suit I have. I don't know how much of a difference this would make in effect, I suspect the differences are slight enough not to matter.
My colour preference for kit is khaki, because being a soft green, and not "camouflage", I feel I can wear it in social and urban settings without standing out too badly like a mall-ninja, but I have a collection so here is some more to compare and contrast....

(8) Platatac CSI folder in their Khaki
(9) AUSCAM pistol holster, appears to be "larger" print than the pack or jacket.
(10) Hill People Runner Bag prototype in Khaki
(11)  BlackHawk! Advanced Kneepads in Coyote Tan
(12) SCAR mini chest rig (review pending)in Tan
(13) my Drop-leg holster in Woodland
(14) my fathers OD boonie-hat from Vietnam (1969-1970)

As you can see, the differences between khakis/tans/ODs  and how each of them sit against the cammo patterns can be quite striking. Having made the choice to wear the once-common and standard Woodland to fit in with the Stargate LRP idea I've been running with, it would still be easy to transition to the now popular and apparently very effective Multicam, which is probably much more suitable to the Australian scrub, whilst still sensibly utilising my extensive khaki kit.

Home Front: My Precious!

Photo yoinked from my Aunts Facebook page of the view she had

I have family in Colorado Springs who were threatened by the recent fires there and being way over this side of the planet, there was bugger all I could physically do to help, except offer some advice based on my experiences in the Black Saturday Fires. They didn't really have a lot of preparation time, and the fires were fairly unusual, where as here we have a "Bushfire Season"  so all I could do was give them some strategy to escape and avoid, and what to pack when they did.  My Aunt and her husband are no fools, neither is my Uncle, and I had no intention of teaching any of them to suck eggs, but this is kind of my schtick.

 
I recommended my Aunt pack 72 hours of clothes, food and supplies for her pets (if she was taking them), water, as well as extra fuel, her important documents, maps and phone chargers. Being what they were, fires are something you can "go back home, after" even if there isn't much left of home. Once everything is burnt, it won't burn a second time, which sets these events apart from floods or other natural disasters, which leave an area wrecked AND dangerous for a while after the event. Once they were clear of the fire-danger, life would have gone on nicely, and society carries on. You can buy nappies, pet food, and more clothes. Hotels are still open, Credit Cards and online banking still works.

 It reminded me though, of the need to know where all my own precious things were, in the event of a "bug-out, your home is about to go away" emergency. I know I have some difficult to re-obtain documentation: my passports (yes, 2), my weapons collectors permits, divorce papers, financial settlement papers, birth certificates for myself and my daughters. Fortunately, these are in a file that can pretty easily be grabbed and stuffed. It then occurred to me, as it did when preparing to evacuate from the Black Saturday Fires (and to some extent, from my home in Dubai in the lead up to Desert Storm) "What precious things would I hate to loose if all of this was destroyed?". This was not a "society ending" or "head for the hills" evacuation and survival decision, more a "this house may be gone tomorrow, take what you love" one. The list was something like this: my family heirloom American Civil War sword from Gettysburg, our external HDD farm, which holds a lot of our combined music and many of my photos, and my crocheted Godzilla, who's been with me since I was a toddler. Everything else could burn, and be replaced, or is already part of my EDC and/or bug-out loadout.

What about you?

Review: Platatac/Gerber branded cap

Ok, here's a quick one, to keep you interested, and keep me in practice.

This is a promotional item that came with a deal when I purchased my Gerber Strap Cutter and I must say, it's pretty cool. Ok, so it's just a cap, there isn't all that much to it. Yet, there are a couple of things still to say. As well as being well made and solidly put together, with a nice fit on my hairy head, and a good bill-geometry, the front of the cap features a hook-and-look loop field which has Gerber branded embroidery directly sewn through it into the body of the cap. Great for morale patches, or in fact, attaching laser-tag sensors for when I go Stargate lasertag LRPing. Along the sides of the cap, in subdued colours are the Playtpus Outdoors  and Platatac logos and an Australian (and/or New Zealand) flag on the back. All beautifully embroidered. The cap itself is a darker green than their usual khaki, but still a nice shade, I thought.

So, why does a hat matter? Several reasons spring to mind. Head covers reduce your exposure, to the elements, be they sun, snow or rain, and also to unfriendly eyes. Shiny foreheads, bright flowing locks, distinctive faces and the like can give your away at times where not being seen is an advantage, get in the way or just let the sun rain or dust get in your face when you need to be "eyes-on".

I always pack a hat, it's a little thought of element of your EDC, serves a variety of functions and rarely draws unwanted attention.

Review: LazerBrite magnetic tail cap

I was fortunate to win a Single-Mode LazerBrite recently, the MultiLux version of which I reviewed a while back, but shipping my booty over from the US wasn't especially economical, by itself that is. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to add to my collection of kit and exciting modularity, I threw one of their Micro-Magnet tail caps into my order. I already have the tail cap loops, for attaching lanyards to the LazerBrites, and reviewed one of their "Tactical Pouches" which included an iris tube accessory.


Each of the lights comes with one of the glow-dome caps, so adding a Micro-Magnet cap just added a level of versatility to my load-out. So, what makes up the Micro-Magnet tailcap?

A 17mm (10/16") diameter neodymium alloy magnet is glued into the base of a screw threaded tail-cap, which mates withe the base-plate of the LaserBrite head. The magnet is reported to have a holding power equivalent to 5 lbs when attached to 1/4" plate steel, but with all magnets, actual results may vary. I took mine and fitted it to just the head-and-dome and let it dangle off the steel frame of my desk, which is did happily, and firmly, and as a more stringent test, I placed a full LazerBrite horizontally, then seeing how rigidly it held, daisy-chained a second tube to the end, forming a light-baton. This also held up really well. I have used this to stick to the side of my car, as well as doors and wall-fittings whilst working in awkward spots, and figure it could also provide a means of dangling a light from inside a tent with the addition of a washer or the like.

This is a cool addition to my kit, and gives me additional attachment methods for my lights, which whilst not quite up to being a giant Throwie, could easily be used as a marker to track, trace or illuminate an unfriendly neighborhood killdozer